I'm currently trying to update our kitchen on a very limited budget.
The kitchen itself is good quality, solid oak, from B&Q. Currently the kitchen has black lino floors, black laminate worktop, and fairly dark wall tiles.
We have a bit of money (c. £700) saved and with this I'm hoping to do the following:
Replace the vinyl with this:
www.unitedcarpetsandbeds.com/soft-step-trento-507
Re-tile with these (beige only, not multi-coloured):www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod44326/section100/Batik-Patchwork-Beige.html
The final step will be to replace the worktop. I was hoping to get a wooden laminate to match the oak units but they don't have a matching one in B&Q (which is where the original kitchen was bought - we took a door in to check). The solid oak matching worktop will cost upwards of £750 ... prompting a rethink.
We have a white ceramic sink, which got me thinking, maybe I could go for a white laminate worktop? The look I'm going for is clean and bright. We have a cream kettle and toaster, vintage scales etc. My only worry is that it might stain, i.e. if I was making curry etc. and something spilled.
In terms of general upkeep, we have two cats who sleep in the kitchen at night and often prowl about the worktops. Having failed to train them out of this (and there isn't much I can do in the middle of the night!) I'm now used to cleaning the worktop twice a day and before preparing every meal. So I'm not worried about white units showing up the dirt. It's the staining issue.
I guess what I'm wondering is, if it was you, would you compromise go for a wooden laminate in a slightly darker shade to the worktops (a neighbour has this and it actually looks nice, but I have trouble picturing it in my kitchen for some reason), or would white laminate be doable in terms of upkeep?
Thanks - and sorry for the essay!!